Maintenance-free slide bearings which comprise a layer structure having a metallic support material, an intermediate layer and a sliding layer applied thereto have been known for a long time in a variety of forms from the prior art and are used in a wide variety of technical fields, for example in the field of automotive engineering.
EP 0 394 518 A1 describes a multilayer slide bearing material in which the metallic support material preferably consists of cold-rolled steel on which a layer of a copolymer of perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) and tetrafluoroethylene has been applied as intermediate layer. A sliding layer composed of a PTFE compound material is in turn applied to the intermediate layer. In this slide bearing material, the intermediate layer has the function of establishing firm adhesion of the sliding layer to the support material. In order firstly to ensure adhesion of the intermediate layer to the support material, the surface of the metallic support material in this known slide bearing material has to be pretreated in a suitable manner by wet chemical means. The best results appear to be achieved by chromating of the surface of the metallic support. However, this process is problematical for a variety of reasons, including environmental issues and others.
Slide bearing material with two layers are poorly investigated. US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/092827 discloses cookware having an outer surface comprising a polyaryletherketone and a fluoropolymer. However, such assembly is prepared in a liquid dispersion process, which results in articles that are unsuited for maintenance-free slide bearings. As such, there is a continued need for improved maintenance free slide bearings.
Therefore, it would be advantageous if a slide bearing could be produced that would not require extensive pretreatment of the metal support or an intermediate adhesive layer between the metal support and the sliding layer.